Scottie Barnes has been far and away the best Toronto Raptor this season, and he added another impressive night to his arsenal on Wednesday, using a huge fourth quarter to help his team beat the Phoenix Suns 112-105.
Barnes scored 12 of his 23 points in the final quarter, and had jokes in his post-game press conference.
“I don’t know. I’ve got that dog in me,” the young American said with a smile about his performance, per TSN.
The 22-year-old star added seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks to help the Raptors improve to 9-10 on the season, good enough for 10th place in the Eastern Conference.
“Scottie Barnes is a winner,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic mused after the win. “When you coach him, you just feel that energy, you feel him on the bench the way he's energizing the whole team.”
Dennis Schroder finished with a season-high 12 assists for the Raptors, while Precious Achiuwa added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jakob Poeltl was good for 17, while OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. had 13 each.
The victory snapped a two-game losing skid for the Raps, who had a short turnaround after being delayed flying home from New York after losing to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.
Suns streak snapped by Raptors
The victory ended Phoenix's seven-game winning streak, and also spoiled the return of Kevin Durant. The superstar missed two games with a sore foot, but didn't seem to miss a beat by leading the team with 30 points. He added four boards and six helpers.
It was the first time the Suns have lost since Nov. 12 against SGA and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I don't feel like I'm ever out of rhythm,” Durant said afterwards. “I just missed shots. I just think the lid was on the basket tonight. I feel like we got good looks, we just didn't finish.”
“We have to understand that we have to start the game better than we started today,” Jusuf Nurkic echoed after recording a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double. “They played last night. We should be starting the game better.”
Scottie Barnes and his Raptors will look to make it two in a row against the New York Knicks on Friday night. The Suns will look to get back in the win column on the same night against the Denver Nuggets.
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